Shattered Reasons
by Crystal Moonlight Smasher
Summary: After depressing events, An decided to transfer to Hyoutei. There, she joins the tennis team and tries to make it work. She ends up running into the boy regulars and finding love, with Atobe? Not to mention, she finds a new place to live and trespasses on a certain someone's house. AtobexAn.
1. No Rain

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. WOOSH.**

**Well that's pretty much it, enjoy.**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "Bring Me To Life"**

/watch?v=FiOKWwxVH2M&feature=BFa&list=FLxFVCTewHnskYnGQjTiDRTA

(add the youtube . com part)

_I've never needed to feel pressure._

_Or work hard._

_It's just a game._

_It's as simple like that._

_I have everything._

_So why do I feel like I have nothing?_

_~ Atobe Keigo_

**There's always a reason.**

**~x~**

"Get away from me." An Tachibana's heart skipped a beat. Not near the courts of Fudomine, and isolated behind the back door of the school, An was trapped. The sun was still up, and it would be perfect hanging out with her non-existent friends if she wasn't _here_.

"Why? Don't you wanna come play with us?" The larger of the two boys spoke up.

"I refuse." An stared emotionlessly. Back against the wall, hoping she would fall through any moment. _This feels like a scene from the movies, where the soon-to-be prince saves the princess..._

"No need to get so serious." The same boy walked up so that their bodies almost touched. As he breathed on her, and their height differences started to stand out. _Well, I won't be saved..._

"C'mon, we should get going. That's Tachibana's sister." The other boy motioned his friend to leave.

"Tachibana? Who gives a shit? She walked by me without greeting me." The boy looked back down. An stared in disbelief. _Ah, What the hell._ She ran as fast as she could on the road leading towards the courts. She felt a strong need to get her brother, to clasp onto his sweaty uniform and to stay there forever. To get revenge against the bastards who bothered her.

_But she didn't._

She split off into the school and raced down the halls, bag slung over her shoulder. The boy—most likely abandoned by the other, followed her, catching up every minute. Hot on her heels, he almost got a hold on her hair, when she skidded into a wall, and crawled into the girl's bathroom. Luckily for her, there were two or three girls there to keep the coward outside from coming in. They silently ignored her, but An didn't need another problem.

_Holy shit._

She noticed the blood trickling down from her knees to her ankles and staining her socks. Looking around, she spotted a towel dispenser. _No kidding; she was in a bathroom._

Furiously pulling out sheets of paper, she drenched them in water and wiped her legs down. The other girls had already left, either because they were done, or she had disrupted their secret meeting. She went through her bag. Pulling out a bandage, she stuck it on sloppily. She pulled off her socks and threw them out. _At least there isn't any blood on my sneakers, _she thought as she stuck her bare feet into her shoes.

Feeling quite satisfied with herself, she touched her band-aid one last time. Gathering her stuff, she peeked out the door and noticed that the halls were clearly deserted.

_I would have made it to the courts in time. I could've been saved from these scrapes. I could get farther lost in my brother's shadow and continue to play a game that I would never win._

She angrily dismissed the thought from her mind. The last thing she needed was regret on top of hate, anger, and homework.

_Let's change the topic, An. You ran into a bathroom. Two or three girls having a secret meeting... They could be spies... or detectives... maybe they were detective spies... or spy detectives...?_

She finally exited the building when the sun was going down. Rounding the corner, she shuffled to the courts where the regulars were packing up and getting ready to leave. The team made their way towards An.

"An-chan! Where've you been?" Kamio walked up to her, and soon his eyes trailed to the band-aids on her knees.

"Just sight-seeing. Oh, and this," She motioned down at her knees, "...is just the result of fighting aliens in black tuxedos aka walking into a wall."

"Very convincing... Walls..." Ibu trailed off muttering on.

"What happened, An? Where are your friends?" Tachibana came to the front of the group.

"I just tripped. My friends..." An trailed off, as the group caught on and remembered what happened the last year.

"Well, don't worry! We're here for you." Kamio brightened.

"Ah, about that," An stiffened and faced the team with intensity building up in her eyes.

"I want to transfer to Hyoutei."

~x~

"You wanna what?" Kamio shouted.

"I know you heard me, so let's get over the formalities and move on. This has already been taken care of, and I'm transferring next week. I'm leaving the tennis team here, and starting again in Hyoutei. I made this decision because I need to start fresh. To escape what happened last year and to do things on my own, without you're help, brother." An stood her ground waiting for a response.

"If that's what you want." Tachibana gave her one short glance and left the scene, with the team following close. Although it was a short glance, the look in his eyes was _terrifying_. She could feel the torturous, cold look in his eyes. He was hurt.

_This was a decision I made on my own. I should be proud. Happy. I could start over. So why do I feel so regretful? This wasn't an "It's nothing." moment, because it was never nothing._

**There's always a reason.**

**~x~**

Feeling hated and regretful, she was being ignored by everyone in the team. Even Ibu wouldn't mutter a word to her, which seemed almost impossible unless there was something going on. The week went by torturously slow and left her with a bitter feeling. Hyoutei was an obvious choice to her, considering the huge population of students. The only other places that she could go to were Rikkaidai and Seigaku. _No way._

An shook her head hoping to shake off any sadness she was feeling. _Move on._ _Man up._ She grabbed her tennis bag and ran to an empty court far away from the school behind an abandoned building. It was at least 10:00 at night. It was dark. Lonely. For hours and hours she started hitting to no one. Eventually, she slowed down her pace. Nothing was in her control, not even the ball. Soon, she ran out of tennis balls and begun to pick them up for the millionth time. She accidentally kicked a ball into the grass field next to the court, out of frustration. Running to chase it, she ran into the grass where the ball came to a halt. She reached for the ball, and then stood looking at it for a while. _Oh yeah, tomorrow I'm transferring. I don't want to go home._ She lay down next to her abandoned tennis ball, and sank into despair. _What a depressing week._

The gray clouds filled the sky with a damp feeling. The smell was thick and the air felt heavy. Just breathing was an inconvenience. However, it wasn't the air that made everything difficult, and she knew it.

_Why is it that all I can see is black and white?_

Suddenly, she felt herself hoping for rain. A thick storm that would wash away all her problems, and her memories. Just to forget.

It didn't rain that day.

~x~

_There's too much... too much of it... too much emptiness..._

I woke up quickly and fiercely as the bell sounded. Class was over. It went by so fast.

Yesterday, I ran back home to shower and such. Quickly, I ran out and slept in that abandoned building with the court, bringing everything I could. I couldn't take the pain of staying in that house. Even if it meant severe loneliness.

_At that time I didn't realize how convenient it was, having a bed and food and such. Why would that have been there ahead of time? But if I hadn't come here, I would've regretted it._

"Tachibana-san. I let you go this time, because you're a new student here. But please refrain from sleeping in class. I don't know what vile things you may have done in _Fudomine_ Middle School, but this is Hyoutei." I could've sworn she said Fudomine with some disgust in her voice. The stark thin and short lady named Ms. Yoshida was my english teacher.

"Yes, I understand. I'm very sorry." I quickly bowed and exited the room. I broke into a half-skip and half-run. Looking down at the slip of paper in my hand I smiled. It's been so long since I could smile, but I did. It read:

**Hyotei Girls Tennis Team. Open for try-outs any time.**

**~x~**

With her tennis bag slung over my shoulder she raced through the halls, ignoring the crazed looks of the people around her. An was about to enter the only place for her. Where she could start over.

Finally, she got outside the building, where she noticed the boys tennis team practicing. Examining the slip, there had been no location on it. There was no way she was asking the boy team where to find the girl team. It just seemed so wrong.

Wandering absentmindedly, An started to get annoyed. She had planned to get to the team early, so no one would be there to stare at a new girl who wanted to try out in the middle of the year. But coming on time had to suffice.

Without realizing it, An walked face-first into a fence. Rubbing her face in pain, she tried to pull her bag away. Unfortunately, the bag was hooked onto a part of the fence that was sticking out. _Ah, shit._

She pulled frantically, and at the same time, tried to look cool when people walked by. She sighed and attempted to bite it. Before she could, a hand reached next to her head and gently unhooked the bag.

"Oh, finally! Thank you ver-" An looked at the familiar face and frowned.

"Speechless, An-chan? That's not like you at all." Atobe smirked. He was in his tennis regular jersey and was holding his tennis racket. When An stayed quiet he continued.

"Well, you'll have to tell me all about transferring later." Atobe moved his face closer to her. After annoying her enough, he walked passed her and waved.

"The girl's courts are to your left." Atobe finished as he went to join his team members in practice.

"Ugh... God help me..." An muttered as she went to the left. _I guess the boys start practice early then._

"Line up!" A girl with long red hair and blonde highlights stood in front of the crowd of kids in her tennis regular jersey. She seemed like an over-sized Barbie doll.

"I see we have a newcomer here, Tachibana An, was it?" The girl read off the slip.

"Yes, buchou. It's nice to meet you." An bowed.

"I see, well no need for the formalities. Please take your racket and go with our vice-captain over here and she'll give you the ranking test. By the way, my name is Eri Mukahi." She shook An's hand.

"Okay, thank you... Wait? Mukahi? As in Gakuto Mukahi's sister?" An's eyes widened.

"Yes, yes. Don't compare me to my older brother though. You'll see how different we are. Okay! Get in line and start forehand strokes!" Eri went on directing the team. An went to follow her vice captain.

_Boy, she wish she didn't._

"Hi. I'm Naoki. Pretty, huh? So call me that instead of fukubuchou," She grinned. Naoki had pure blue short hair.

"By the way, I saw you sleeping in class. Now I like you. Let's be friends. Not friends, but FWENDS." Naoki smiled.

"Uh... okay. Umm... where are we going to take the ranking test?" An felt like the answer wouldn't be good.

"To the boys court, of course."

~x~

**Soooooooo, how was it? I felt like this chapter was all emo and stuff. But it ended a little better. If I copied anyone or anything, let me know! As far as I know, there aren't any stories with An transferring to Hyoutei. -_- but you never know...**

**Please review, favorite, follow, comment, add, hit-with-a-frying-pan and stuff.**


	2. Blind Bloodshot

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. BOOSH.**

**Thanks for the review: asobi seksu, I really like your review 'cause it gave me some pointers for the next chapterrrrr. :D Naoki is my comic relief character. All sunshine and smiles.**

**Thanks to kitty cat lysanne for putting this on your Story Alert list. Love your username. ;)**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "Circus"**

/watch?v=l34vPWLlqIo

(add the youtube . com part)

_I was just in his shadow._

_I'm not upset. Really._

_It's just since that day..._

_That I lost._

_I didn't attempt to challenge him._

_I will never move from this position._

_~Oshitari Yushi_

**There's always a reason.**

**~x~**

"What's An-chan thinking?" Kamio sat in class twirling his pen.

"Who knows? Maybe it was because of last year." Ibu stared at the chalkboard resting his head on the palm of his hand.

"Well... I think we should at least talk to her. It's just... What should we say? You'd think she would've told us earlier." Kamio sighed.

"She probably has a reason. Jeez, this situation pisses me off." Ibu let his head hit the desk.

"But, I don't think we're taking this the hardest. Tachibana-san hasn't been talking to anyone for a while now." Kamio frowned.

"I feel bad auras here." Ibu muttered.

~x~

"Th-The _boys_ c-ccourttt?" An choked out.

"Can you hear me? Yeah. Anyone who joins in the middle of the year has to take a special test to guarantee they can catch up to everyone in the team already. The test is much stricter." Naoki walked backwards facing An. An gripped her blue racket tightly. _What if I screw up?_

_So that's why Atobe didn't blackmail me into meeting with him later. He knew._

_I. Will. Murder. Him._

Naoki stopped and exclaimed "Okay! Basically in your exam, you'll play a match against a freshman. Until, I say you're ready. Usually Atobe decides who it is, since-"

"OH PLEASE NO." An did not want Atobe to pick anyone for her to play. It could **not** go well.

"-he's the captain." Naoki finished, ignoring her.

"Let's go then!" Naoki pushed An to the court. An peeked inside and realized that they were still practicing! _YES._

Atobe took one look at An and declared:

"Listen up! We're ending practice early today. Takumi and the other regulars, please stay." Atobe directed. The regulars stayed scattered around the bleachers.

"Oh God NO." An was NOT going to play someone. Not in front of all the regulars, at least.

"Come on, An-chan. We don't have all day." Atobe put his hands on his hips.

"Apparently you do. Since you **ended** practice." An rolled her eyes, but still came forward. She could tell the team knew about this already, based on their snickers and evil faces. That _Bastard. _He planned this.

"Takumi, you'll play An until Naoki decides that she's ready." Atobe motioned. An looked at the boy. He seemed to be the same height as her, but looked **really** stuck up.

"Err..." An was about to say something, as she shook hands, but it went ignored, as he walked to his spot. That pissed her off.

"Well, whatever." She walked to her spot. Oshitari was the referee.

Meanwhile... Gakuto shifted on the bench.

"This should be interesting. Takumi is pretty weak. Except for that one move he has. That thing is annoying." Gakuto pouted.

"His skills aren't refined enough to beat Hiyoshi, though." Ohtori said.

"Tachibana's sister, huh?" Shishido recalled his match with her brother and balled his fist.

"Tachibana to serve." Oshitari stated. An looked down at her racket and with a reckless form, she set the ball flying at Takumi. Takumi, unfazed by her approach lobbed it at An slowly. An thought about smashing it, but realized it was his intention. He must have some sort of ace up his sleeve. Instead she hit a drop shot, and it landed, making two small hops on the floor.

"15 to love. Tachibana."

"Not bad, for a girl. Though that was a pretty horrible form." Takumi taunted.

"Maybe. But I can fix it. You can't fix your face." An blurted out. She just went along with it, as they both glared at each other. Shishido snickered.

"Oi! An! Break it up. If you're gonna start fights, do it later." Naoki shouted.

"An-chan. Tsk. Tsk." Atobe mocked.

"Don't you people have anything better to do? Aren't you the _great_ regulars, who stand over hundreds of kids?" An asked gently with a fake smile. Gently... ish.

"What's wrong with watching a tennis match?" Gakuto smirked.

_I hate you people._

"Are you serving or not?" Takumi got into position, a motionless expression on his face.

"Uh, yeah." An threw the ball up into the air careful to adjust her position. After exchanging a few hits, Takumi lobbed again. An thought about doing another drop shot, but decided she would have to figure out what this move was anyway. Better late than never. Swiftly she jumped up and smashed it. An watched him carefully. It was hard to concentrate with the regulars watching her. Maybe the girl regulars would've been more comfortable.

Suddenly the ball hit the wall behind her. And a hot, red liquid dripped from her cheek.

_Blood._

_~x~_

Meanwhile, Ibu and Kamio headed towards Hyoutei. _Slowly... Slowly..._

"What the hell are we doing? At this rate, we'll never make it there." Kamio kicked a rock in his path.

"Do you really want to?" Ibu kicked the rock back.

"Wh—What?! Of course... Of course." Kamio started walking again.

"You said 'Of course' twice." Ibu deadpanned.

"SHADDUP."

~x~

An exhaled. _Calm down, dammit._

"Game, Takumi."

The ball whirled passed her head again. Again. Again.

"Are you even trying?" Takumi asked as he played with the strings on the racket.

"Ah, shut up." An got back into position.

"That's enough." Naoki walked onto the court.

"What?!" An had _lost._ She couldn't just leave it like this.

"You can join the team. It's not like you're anywhere behind everyone, that's for sure." Naoki shrugged. _Looks like buchou overestimated her._

"Well, I guess that's that." Takumi turned around and started walking the other way.

_No. No. No. No. I can't just lose. Lose..._

"Wait? Are you running away?" An balled her fists at her sides.

"Ehh? You wanna continue?" Takumi called out without even looking at her.

"Duh." An put her free hand on her hip.

"Woah, woah. What have we got here?" Shishido whistled a little.

"Let them continue, then. _An-chan._ Let me let you in on something. Only the regulars and a select few can hit Takumi's shot. If you can hit it, then you're guaranteed a spot in the ranking tournament." Atobe motioned, clearly enjoying himself.

"Huh? Err... I guess it's fine." Naoki scratched her head.

"Let's go then." Takumi got into position. An let her bangs cover her eyes. She just wanted to conquer that shot. To crush it and somehow redeem herself.

Takumi served quickly. An focused on staying calm. _Calm, calm._

"Backhand. Forehand. Drop shot. Right. Left. Swerve. Smash." An muttered.

"Smashing again? Pretty brave." Takumi was a few split seconds from hitting the shot. _Time it out. You can do this..._

"Thwack!" The shot was coming at An. Like the speed of light. Closing her eyes, she breathed out steadily.

"It's over." Takumi said, before contact was made. He turned around to walk away. That's when he saw the sizzling ball roll by him and hit the wall.

"So that's what your shot was... When you figure it out, it's not so hard to return." An remarked. Even though she attempted to look composed, she felt herself getting _way_ tired and sick.

"It seemed like it took her longer to hit that shot back, than it would take a regular." Shishido added.

"Well, its because Takumi puts absolutely no spin on the ball, doubles the strength of his opponents smash and aims it at a blind spot closest to the face. This time, I think he tripled the strength." Ootori shrugged.

"But, it doesn't look like Tachibana could hit it completely. It was mostly luck that it got over the net." Gakuto stared.

Takumi shouted: "Hey, you! What's your name? Tachi-something right?"

"Tachibana An." An called back angrily.

"Next time we play, you won't be able to hit my '_Blind Bloodshot'_ back." With that, Takumi left the courts.

"An-chan. Looks like you're on the team." Atobe walked to Naoki to discuss something, while the regulars left. Except for Kabaji of course. So An decided to make a conversation.

"So, how's life?" An asked cheerily.

"Usu." Kabaji replied.

"This means war!" An shouted.

"Usu." Kabaji replied.

"_Truce."_ An shook his hand laughing inside at her pathetic pun.

"An-chan. The ranking tournament happens to be next week. I placed you in a slot." Naoki smiled as she handed her a paper.

"Good luck~" Atobe lowered down and kissed An on the forehead. An was still trying to comprehend what had just happened, when Atobe smirked and strode off with Kabaji following. An blushed slightly and tried to hide it with her bangs.

"Hmmmmmm? Someone's blushingggggg." Naoki teased.

"Err..." An sighed. Looking down at her paper, she looked at her first opponent.

**Naoki Kinjo.**

**~x~**

**First time revealing Naoki's last name. I kinda felt like An was a little too Mary Sue-ish in this chapter. Sorry guys. Hopefully, it'll get better.**

**Hey, by the wayyyyy, in the next chapter you'll see who's house/abandoned building An trespassed on.**

**Feel free to drop a review, or favorite, story alert, follow, stalk, eat and etc. :)**


	3. Hyoutei's Girl Team

**HEYYYY! I'm backkkkkkkkkk. :O You guys are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I love all the awesome reviews! So if you happen to want to get straight to the story, just skip the preview. For those of you that reviewed and let me know of your existence, find your username with a reply and stuff. (I would have just private messaged people, but it's for people who want to know some things about how I wrote the story.)**

**Thanks to:**

**Dotted-Daffodil, jenshim1581, sempai-sama Keisuke Cloudberry and princess14147 for putting this on Story Alert. Thanksssssss. :)**

**sweet-Lia and Sacchiance for putting this on your Favorite stories list thingy. :) hehe. You rockkk.**

**For my awesome reviewers:**

**sempai-sama ~ Thanks for reviewingggggg. I happen to adore the Akaya and An pair. . I intend to strengthen her relationship with Atobe and the regulars. I'm glad you liked the introooooooo. It was something I was thinking about for a long time, so I finally got to put it up. I'm trying to keep her away from the whole Mary Sue topic. It kinda sucks when all the characters do is win. (Although I do like to daydream, and write pointless stories like that.) I want make her tough and rounded as a character. ;) About that Kabaji conversation: I just happened to write it without thinking, though it kept killing me with embarrassment. XD Now I'm smiling like an idiot. Look forward to your reviewsssss. ^/^**

**Keisuke Cloudberry ~ Btw I luvvvv your username. It sounds awesome. XD Thanks for the reviewwwwwww. I did spend a lot of time planning the beginning, so I'm glad you liked it. About the perspectives, I did look over it, and I think I'll just keep to one type of perspective per chapter (first-person, third-person, etc.) Thanks for the advice, I luvvvv it. Luvvvv is like my new word. Luvvvvvvvvvvvv. About the Mary Sue thing, Gotcha'. ;P Look forward to your reviewsssss. :D**

**soos ~ HEYYYYY. I agree with you completely, An is a great character. She's one of the only respectable girl characters in prince of tennis. I kinda wish she had more screen time. I'm not gonna reveal the thing that happened a year ago completely. But I'll drop hints about it for the time being. :D Thanks for the compliment and I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for reviewinggggggg. :) Look forward to your reviewsssss. XD**

**DAWGGGGGGG. I love how all of you dropped such lengthy and detailed reviews. Advice is alwayssssss appreciated. (Am I high? _Higher than the empire state..._)**

**Enjoyyyyyyy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. POOSH.**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "We Found Love" (About this song... my friend scarred my brain by changing the lyrics from "We found love in a hopeless place" to "We found blood on a hobo's face". Now try listening to this song without thinking of _that_. XD)**

/watch?v=fXigWIJYeX4&feature=related

(add the youtube . com part)

_I was a regular. I made it that far._

_So why couldn't I stand up to Tachibana?_

_It wasn't him I couldn't stand up to..._

_Was it the coach? Or Atobe?_

_No... It was myself that I couldn't stand up to._

_I couldn't face the person that shamed Hyoutei._

_~Shishido Ryo_

**There's always a reason.**

~x~

"It's totally a spider." Ibu stared. Ibu and Kamio stood in front of the Hyoutei gate looking as puzzled as ever.

"Who cares?" Kamio rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe this spider will grow really big and eat An-chan." Ibu shrugged.

Kamio squashed the spider.

"Okay... well, let's go. We need to talk after all." Kamio proceeded through the gate with Ibu following close behind.

~x~

"You done packing up yet?" Naoki slung her bag over her shoulder at the door of the locker rooms.

"Uh... Just a sec." An stuck her racket in her locker. She wouldn't need it tonight. She grabbed her bag and went outside.

"Bye bye, An! I'll see you tomorrow." Naoki skipped off through the school gates. An suddenly spotted two familiar boys, when tears came to her eyes. Holding back her tears as best as she could, she rushed up to them with nothing on her mind about what had happened.

"Kamio-kun, Ibu-kun! I missed you so much... Hyoutei's a real piece of work, you know that?" An's face showed a worried smile.

"An-chan! We missed you, too. Listen... We're sorry about... ignoring you and stuff. It's just... leaving so suddenly and all... it was just too much to take at once." Kamio suddenly wondered why he _had_ ignored her. For such a stupid reason.

"An-chan. So, err... how's school been? It's only been a day, but I can't help wondering if you made the right choice. Made any friends?" Ibu muttered in a familiar tone.

"Mhmm! I made a friend from the tennis team." An smiled. They were back to their normal selves.

"Ah, I see. Erm... be careful, alright? Last year..." Ibu trailed off again.

"I know. But Naoki's a great person, so... it won't turn out that way." An smiled half-heartedly.

"Well, anyway, don't forget to talk to your brother. Drop by, or something. Promise?" Kamio said.

"Uh, yeah. Okay. Promise." An didn't want to talk to her brother yet... But maybe later.

~x~

"Atobe-sama. Who was that girl?"

"Yeah, yeah! We saw you kiss her. Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"No way. Atobe-sama would never get a girlfriend like that."

Atobe walked with the girls past the girls' tennis courts.

"What have we here..." Atobe looked on as An excited waved goodbye to two familiar Fudomine regulars.

"Girls, please retire for the night. I'm a little tired so I'm heading home alone." Atobe said in a pleasant voice.

"Okay! Sleep well, Atobe-sama!" A bunch of girls squealed and ran off.

~x~

An was _freakin'_ tired. Worn out mentally and physically. And the **last** thing she needed was a certain Hyoutei captain to wrap his arms around her.

"Do anything perverted to me, and I will scream loud enough to break glass. It'll be like the cartoons and everything." An struggled to get free, but it was useless. He was bigger, stronger, and taller.

"_Really, now?_" Atobe mocked.

"I bet I'm smarter than you." An perked up, careful to avoid size and strength topics.

"Maybe you are." Atobe smirked.

"Maybe I am." An cracked a smile.

"Hey, An-chan. Remember that time you said you'd go on a date with me if I beat all those people in the street courts?" Atobe whispered.

"Kabaji did all the work. Did you know he has an AMAZING sense of humor? Really." An rolled her eyes when Atobe smirked.

"See you around, Tachibana." Atobe walked outside the gate like nothing had happened. God, she was going to _pretend_ nothing happened.

Finally after what seemed like hours of walking An had reached her temporary home. Unfortunately, she didn't ever expect to see what she saw.

"AHHHHHHH!" An opened the door to find Takumi in his jersey, sleeping on the couch. _Oh shit... oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, OH SHIT._

~x~

"Looks like you'll be playing Tachibana in the ranking matches." Eri hit a tennis ball back at Naoki.

"Looks like it." Naoki missed the ball by a few inches and paused.

"She'll have a little trouble playing our prodigy, hmm?" Eri smiled excitedly at the thought.

"Too bad, 'our prodigy' still gets beat by you each time, hmm?" Naoki wiped her face with a towel.

"Why did An have such a hard test? Was it to test her abilities based on her brother's skills?" Naoki sipped her fruit punch.

"Sharp as always, Naoki. But she doesn't seem all that special. Well, it's not like siblings are the same, think of my brother." Eri chuckled.

"I disagree. I think she has something special about her. Speaking of your brother, has he ever beaten you? He is older than you by what, 2 months?" Naoki grinned.

Eri rolled her eyes, "Gakuto? No way. Impossible."

~x~

"Eh?" Takumi looked up and froze.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Takumi and An shouted in unison pointing and glaring.

"This is my house. Take your stuff and get out." Takumi gestured at the belongings scattered on the floors.

"FINE!" An paused.

"Actually... can I stay for a bit?" An asked politely and sweetly. Very sweetly.

"Hell no." Takumi deadpanned.

"HAH!? WHY NOTTTTTT!" An blurted out.

"Well, my cousin lent me this place, and it would be weird to let you share it with me. And you're a girl." Takumi said coldly.

"Cousin? Who?" An asked.

"None of your business. GET OUT." Takumi motioned.

"Just let me stay for a little while. Don't you get lonely at this kind of place? WAIT A SEC. Where were you yesterday night?" An asked.

"In my room upstairs. Oh shoot, I left the door unlocked last night." Takumi sighed.

"You didn't notice my stuff this morning? Do you always come to school late?" An pondered out loud.

"Stop with the questions. You know what? Fine, you can stay. Just... don't get in my way. This is only temporary though." Takumi gave up.

"Really? Thanks." An piled her stuff on the floor.

"Stop being so disorganized." Takumi made a neat pile of her belongings and brought them into an empty room.

"Here, now, in return for letting you stay here you have to help me practice." Takumi put his hands on his hips.

"Tennis? Uhh sure..." An replied.

"Well, tell me if you need anything, I guess." Takumi retreated downstairs. An pulled out her laptop and set it on the bed. It was a nice room, actually. She liked it.

"Well, time to get started on homework." An said to herself as she stretched out on the bed.

~x~

"Hey. Oi. Wake up." Takumi poked An.

"Huh? Wh-hat?" An mumbled. She fell asleep almost immediately.

"Dinner's ready." Takumi shuffled downstairs.

"Err... okay?" An got off the bed and followed him.

"Soup? Thank you." An plopped down at the table and started digging in.

"You cook?" An asked Takumi as he sat down across from her.

"Yeah... my family lives in Europe. I transferred here because my cousin said it was a good idea. So I do all the housework, shopping and cooking." Takumi replied as he sipped his soup.

"Who is this cousin, anyway?" An sipped her soup.

"You know him. Atobe Keigo."

~x~

An couldn't sleep well all night. Thoughts of Atobe and Takumi burnt out her mind. After learning more about Takumi, she found out that he was annoying and obnoxious. But he seemed fairly nice, and was a complete neat freak.

"Wake up! Dammit, you're such a heavy sleeper." Takumi rolled his eyes.

"We have to go to school now." Takumi said in an annoyed tone.

"Ugh, yeah." An slowly got changed and ready for school. They both exited the house. While Takumi locked the door, An decided to question him.

"Hey, why did you wake up later than me yesterday? Aren't you the type of person who actually **wants** the perfect attendance certificate?" An asked.

"Yesterday... was a bad day for me." Takumi walked past An leaving a sinking feeling in her heart. Like she knew the same pain.

~x~

The bell rang. While An strode through the halls with Naoki, she realized that Takumi was in her class. So he was a second year too? For most of the class An talked to Naoki about random stuff. An was never really "obedient" in class.

"Hey. Stop spacing out. Since your new, after the team meet, we're gonna introduce you to the regulars. You will be in the ranking tournament, but don't think you're the only one." Naoki said.

"Okay, I understand." An replied.

"Well, gooooood. Now let's go kick some butt and show off during practice!" Naoki rushed off towards the courts.

Practice went by fast. Like really fast. An did laps, swung her racket, and did other familiar drills. She felt like she could become a regular easily. Unfortunately that thought didn't last very long when she met them.

~x~

"Tachibana, get changed and we'll introduce you." Eri called out. An quickly changed, and was eager to meet the Hyoutei girls' team. She skipped to the courts, with her racket bag and regular bag.

"Ah, there she is." Eri motioned her to come closer.

"Now you've met me and Naoki. I'm the singles one player, and Naoki's a doubles one player. I'm a third year and Naoki's a second year. Naoki's doubles one partner is Miyuki Kamata. Third year." Eri pointed to a brunette with long curly hair, a slim figure, and a few inches above An. Eri and Miyuki had blackish eyes, while Naoki had blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you. Just call me Miyu." Miyuki shook An's hand. She seemed really polite and kind, thought An. What a pair. An smiled thinking about Naoki and Miyuki playing a match with their contradicting personalities.

"Our other doubles two pair, are the first year twins. Yuka and Yuko Satoya." Yuka and Yuko both had a long black braid run down their backs. They had silver-like highlights on their bangs and hazel eyes. The only difference was that Yuko had a blue headband and hairclips, while Yuka's were pink. They were both on the short side, with skinny figures.

"We know what you're thinking, similar name and looks. Just to let you know, Yuka usually wears hats and dresses. I don't." Yuko added.

"She's a tomboy." Yuka put her arm around her twin. They seemed a little tough to get along with, but whoever said that An was easy to get along with anyway.

"The singles two player is Amaya Okumura. Second Year." Eri motioned towards a light brown, straight haired girl with white/clear eyes. She seemed fairly tall.

"Hi." Amaya spoke softly. She seemed like the shy and distant type.

"One thing you should know about Amaya, is that she's blind." Eri smiled softly.

"Oh, wow. That's amazing." An stood in awe as she wondered what she played like. Amaya just stayed silent.

"Our singles three player is Kohaku Higashiyama. Third Year." Eri directed the name towards a girl with short black hair. Unlike Naoki's shoulder length hair, Kohaku's hair was extremely short. At first glance she looked like a boy. With green eyes, tall and thicker limbs, she was quite intimidating.

"Unlike the others, I don't want to get buddy-buddy with you. Annoy me and I'll make sure you won't be playing matches." Kohaku sneered.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that, Ko-channnnn." Naoki jumped on Kohaku who easily shoved her off.

"Finally our regular substitute, Chiyoko Akatsuka. Second Year." Eri brought a skinny girl forward who was the same height as An. She had blonde hair a little longer than Naoki's. A foreigner perhaps... Her eyes were green and she smiled.

"Hey. Wassup." Chiyoko smiled.

"Now the ranking matches are coming soon, so be prepared. There are a whole bunch of girls who want your spot, so don't lose!" Eri laughed, as everyone disbanded.

**Did you catch all that? I'll make a detailed list later, so you can get a better picture. Also, look forward to seeing their playing styles. Byeeeee!**

**Feel free to drop a review, favorite, add to story alert, slurp, smack and etc.**


	4. Typical Tensai

**Wow... my vacation was awesomeeeeee. Sorry about the extremely late update! I also made an organized list of the regulars so you can picture them better.**

**Reviewers find your name below! :)**

**Thanks to:**

**ThousandCross777 for putting this on your favorite stories list.**

**ThousandCross777 (two reviews ;)) and Keisuke Cloudberry for reviewingggg.**

**To my reviewers:**

**Keisuke Cloudberry: LOLOLOL "shut-up-I'll-smack-your-buns-no-you-shut-up" is an awesome combination of words. XP The link was so cute! Well, I'll look forward to your reviews.**

ThousandCross777: Keeping everyone in character is something I always have to check over and over. Especially for Atobe. Thanks; the twins were easy to create, since I just love the idea of making them polar opposites in a similar way. O_O if that made sense.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. COOSH.**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "Call Me Maybe"**

**/watch?v=VOP1s2UKY4o&feature=autoplay&list=FLxFVCTewHnskYnGQjTiDRTA&playnext=2**

**(add the youtube . com part)**

Eri Mukahi: Captain / Singles 1

Third Year

Long red hair and blonde highlights

Mildly tall

Black eyes

Naoki Kinjo: Vice-Captain / Doubles 1

Second Year

Short blue hair

Average height

Blue eyes

Miyuki Kamata: Doubles 1

Third Year

Long, curly and brown hair

Average height

Black eyes

Yuka and Yuko Satoya: Doubles 2

First Years

Long black braid and silver highlights

Short

Hazel eyes

Amaya Okumura: Singles 2

Second Year

Straight, light brown hair

Pretty tall

White/Clear eyes

Kohaku Higashiyama: Singles 3

Third Year

Super short black hair

Tall

Green eyes

Chiyoko Akatsuka: Substitute

Second Year

Short, blonde hair

Average height

Green eyes

A.N. – Even for the girl's team, the iron discipline method of Hyoutei still applies, but they have ranking matches.

_I was always jumping._

_Acrobatics is something I could..._

_...never give up._

_So why is my stamina failing me?_

_Why is the team leaving me behind?_

_Since when have I stopped jumping higher?_

_~Gakuto Mukahi_

**There's always a reason.**

**~x~**

"Is that really true?!" An gasped.

"Of course it is. Coach Sakaki always hangs out with Ms. Yoshida. There are rumors that they have feelings for each other. Blech." Naoki shuddered in disgust. An didn't have any pleasant memories of her english teacher. The thought was definitely perturbing.

"It looks like none of the other second year regulars are in this class." An looked around expectantly. The class was mostly girls.

"Nope. But Chotaro and Kabaji are in our class." Naoki gestured at the boys.

"Wow, I never actually saw Kabaji without Atobe." An stared at the plain-faced tennis player. He seemed so strongly... boring. What did he think about?

"Chotaro's pretty popular. With that friendly attitude." Naoki got up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"The bell rang? Oh, I didn't even notice." An was enjoying her favorite time of the day; a self-study period. She didn't even notice that maybe... just maybe, Naoki could've had feelings for Chotaro.

"Let's go. Today we have our match... Well, good luck." Naoki high-fived An.

"Isn't it weird to wish your opponent good luck?" An asked.

"I guess. I didn't say I wasn't weird." Naoki laughed and started walking.

"Good luck then." An smiled as she followed behind.

~x~

_I guess her match is coming up._

"Takumi?" Atobe waved his hand in Takumi's face.

"Oh. Hey." Takumi noticed Kabaji following behind.

"Were you staring at An-chan? Be careful... That one's mine." Atobe smiled as he turned towards the door.

"Ack! Wait." Takumi grabbed my stuff and walked into place behind his cousin, still scowling at his comment. Wait, why was he scowling?

~x~

The regulars had already won most of their matches.

Eri had already secured her captain spot with straight wins. As expected.

Amaya stayed a regular with straight wins. An deeply regretted not checking out the blind girl's matches.

The twins already won enough matches to keep their spot. Though Yuka just barely slipped by, unluckily having to face Eri and Amaya.

Naoki having straight wins needed one more win to secure a spot. Also known as, a win against An.

Miyuki, Chiyoko and Kohaku were still fighting for their spot. Because there were so many people, the some people finished their matches earlier than others.

The draft An had looked at earlier was changed so that Naoki wasn't her first opponent. As a result, her first matches went pretty smoothly. She had won all of her matches except one. She was beaten by Eri, 6-0. To be honest, she was pretty pissed off that she lost, but didn't show it. For some reason she never expected Eri to do acrobatics too. It was like torture.

There were a lot of people in the ranking matches; a lot more than she could remember at Fudomine. Looking up at a notice board, the final matches were listed:

Match 1: An Tachibana – Naoki Kinjo

Match 2: Chiyoko Akatsuka – Kiki Yamamoto

Match 3: Miyuki Kamata – Kohaku Higashiyama

Match 4: Match 1 loser – Match 2 loser

Match 5: Match 4 loser – Match 3 loser

Kohaku scowled. An looked over at the match chart to see that Kohaku and Kiki had lost one match, unlike Miyuki and Chiyoko who both had straight wins.

Out of the last six people, only four could become regulars. One would be a substitute and the other would become a non-regular.

It was finally time.

~x~

"So, sis, how're the girl regulars going?" Gakuto glomped on his sister.

"Ew. Get off. Stop slacking off, just because you don't have ranking matches." Eri ignored her brother and watched An and Naoki get onto the court.

"Ooh, touchy." Gakuto stalked off in the opposite direction.

"An-chan is finally playing against Naoki, hmm?" Atobe's expression was clearly amused. _Will she win?_

"What does it matter? Girl matches are lame." Shishido rolled his eyes.

"Actually it might be interesting. Naoki did beat you in our mixed matches, right?" Oshitari grinned.

"She probably cheated." Shishido got up to do more drills. _Losing to a girl... ugh._

"We'll find out who won later then." Atobe drawled. _Show me what you can do, An-chan._

~x~

An lined up at her end of the court and smiled. She had watched Naoki's matches before. It seemed as if she was very carefree about her style of play. But she still had to be on guard, Naoki was a prodigy. Naoki lifted her racket and hit a high-speed serve.

_PANG!_ An didn't like the sound of her return. It was smoothly returned as quick as she could realize. Barely blocking, she raised it up and it shot into the air. _A lob. Shit._

Naoki jumped quickly and smacked it down swiftly. The ball flew past An.

'15-love.'

_No way._

'30-love.'

_Completely at her pace._

'45-love.'

_Dammit._

'Game, Kinjo. 1-0 Change courts.'

Rocking back and forth, An calmed down. _Just bring it into your own pace._

An served as precisely as she could. Naoki returned with a slow paced ball. An got into position and prepared to smack it square on. Unfortunately, when her racket made contact, it popped the strings. _What?_

'15-love'

This was not what she observed from watching Naoki's matches.

An quickly went to get a new racket, plucking at the fresh strings.

An's hand was shaking miserably at that last shot. It seemed slow, but was deadly.

"Be awed by my prowess." Naoki deadpanned. Laughter from outside.

"Naoki. Focus." Eri demanded but her smile betrayed her.

An giggled. She decided to relax and play like it was a training match.

Somehow she had regained some of her composure, but still managed to lose the game to Naoki's frequent bursts of speed and power.

'Game, Kinjo. 2-0 Change courts.'

Typical of a tensai.

An needed to face this how she faced Takumi. Pretend like her life depended on it.

_Sharper. Swifter. Quicker. Sharper. Swifter. Quicker. Sharper. Swifter. Quicker._

An's shots started improving drastically.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

'Game, Tachibana. 2-1 Change courts.'

This was good. She was gaining! She could win this.

SMACK! 'Game, Kinjo. 3-1 Change courts.'

_Augh! Why can't I catch up?_

Naoki plucked at her strings.

"Oi! An! I'm changing my racket." Naoki went into her bag and pulled out a new one.

_It wasn't even broken. She must hit very dead on, if she needs to change it._

Dead-on. That was it!

An swung her racket through the air until it was almost perfectly synced.

"Alright, let's continue." Naoki threw the ball into the air and swung swiftly. An copied as close as she could, hitting the ball dead-on. The ball made a _SMACK _noise that left An satisfied. She felt her pace catch up. She could do this.

'Game, Tachibana. 3-2 Change courts.'

An served as dead-on as she could. It wasn't as good as Naoki's serve, but it came close. Suddenly, Naoki walked farther back and hit the ball with a soft underhand. An hit it back hard. Soft underhand. Hard return. Soft underhand. Smash. Soft underhand.

_Huh?_

'Game, Kinjo. 4-2 Change courts.'

_What's up with this inconsistent style?_

'Game, Kinjo. 5-2 Change courts.'

_Strange. I'm not tired, but mentally worn out._

'Match point.'

An silently rocked back and forth. _Crap._

An served a regular serve and after a long rally. Drop shot.

'Game set and match. Kinjo.'

**Hope you enjoyed! This chapter was confusing to write. And I'm sleepy. Feel free to review, favorite, story alert, follow, attack, lick, shave, awkwardly smile at.**


	5. Oshitari Spamming

**I wanna bang my head against the wall repeatedly. REALLY BIG TEST. And I didn't want to screw it up, so I've been staying away from anime. Really sorry for the delay, and now I reread my fic, noticing how I really jumped into the romance too fast. TIME TO MEND. :D**

**Thanks for reviewing:**

**Keisuke Cloudberry: Thanks for the support! I was planning from the beginning to make An one of the weakest regulars, at least for the beginning. I feel very guilty for failing you, in terms of my updating speed and I hope this'll make up for it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. JOOSH.**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "Lucifer" KPOP anyone? :3**

**/watch?v=BTwlCSyPNAI**

**(add the youtube . com part)**

**A.N. – I realized I made a mistake during the 4th chapter. I implied that only eight of the people could be regulars and there would be two more that would be a non-regular and a substitute. Actually, the other two should both be non-regulars, meaning "Match 5" is pointless. However, I'll just wing it, as you'll see in the chapter. Just a heads up.**

_What should I say?_

_What should I do?_

_I can't feel my feelings._

_Do what he says._

_He's the one who saved me._

_My voice won't get any louder._

_~Munehiro Kabaji_

**There's always a reason.**

An was speechless. Frustration and hurt was building in her. The tireless look on Naoki's face was eating away at her. Before she knew it, she had dropped her racket and stalked off as fast as she could, ignoring Naoki's held out hand. As she flew by, people shot her questioning looks. And she hated it.

Why had she run? That was a mistake that hurt her even more then losing.

_Dammit._

She was busy trying to get away as fast as possible, when someone walked in her path.

His eyes were critiquing her as if she was too low a level for him to acknowledge. And the thing that _really really_ killed her was the fact that she probably was. And now, she wanted nothing more than to leave from his sight.

"I hear you lost. In fact, I saw it too." Shishido eyed her.

"Yes I did. Do you have a problem with that?" An glared.

"No. I don't." Shishido walked up and snatched her shirt, lifting her off the ground.

"But the way you handled that," Shishido sneered, "Was pathetic." With that, he dropped her and walked off in the other direction.

An needed him to say that. No matter how much she felt hurt, she knew that it needed to be said. And she suddenly knew, that that was exactly what he needed to hear after his crushing defeat from her brother. As fast as she could, she turned on her heel and sprinted off in the direction of the court. _She had a lot to do._

**~x~**

Shishido noticed someone he didn't want to deal with staring at the scene he made. So he tried to run by AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

"Awh, aren't you a sweet kid." Oshitari mocked as Shishido sped up past him. Oshitari walked to catch up.

"It's like you were _made_ to help damsels in distress." Oshitari continued as Shishido started to walk faster.

"You know if a girl dumped me. Which is practically impossible, just saying. **Then **_**I**_** would **_**go**_** to **_**you**_** for help.**" Oshitari was too smiley when he said that last line. He finally got to him.

"Hey, RETARD. Why don't you shut up and-" Shishido paused when he arrived at the courts.

"-NEVER TELL ATOBE ABOUT THIS."

Oshitari let the long silence go by as he just stared at Atobe, then back at Shishido.

"_Sure._" Oshitari grinned and skipped off.

Shishido mentally calmed down a little, until he saw that Oshitari was skipping. OH GOD. He was _skipping._ Before he knew it, he was running to catch up and fling Oshitari somewhere he couldn't cause harm.

**~x~**

"...and so. I'm sorry." An bowed her head as low as it would go.

"Hey, An. STOP APOLIGIZING." Naoki poked An on the head. The onlookers were all staring and whispering.

"And you people. Everyone feels that way when they lose. It's normal." Naoki shrugged it off. The onlookers showed a little doubt, but still accepted it.

"An, you do realize that we won't tolerate this another time. This isn't just a game about you." Eri sighed.

"Yes I do." An lifted her head.

"Well! It's time for the next match! And you know I'd never be mad at youuuu." Naoki hugged An a little tighter than usual. Just a little.

"Got'cha." An smiled as brightly as possible, which seemed to calm the situation down.

_Phew. It was better than she had expected._

"Okay, the first three matches were already completed, and once everyone is finished with a short break, we'll begin the fourth match between Kiki and An." Eri announced.

"They're over already?" An asked.

"During our match, we had the other two taking place at the other courts." Naoki grinned.

"Well, since my next match is with Kiki, then I guess Chiyoko won, right? So that leaves..." An wondered out loud.

"That would be Kohaku and Miyu's match. Miyu won that one." Naoki finished.

"So that means, you, me or Kiki, Eri, Amaya, Miyu, the twins, and Chiyoko are all eight spots. Wait, then what's the fifth match for?"

"That's just to see who is stronger so that Eri can make better matches in the next ranking tournament. We have one every two months, and we need replacements for people who lose."

"Oh yeah. The iron discipline method." An just had to win. And that was that.

**~x~**

"That's it. Practice is over! Shishido go run 30 extra laps." Atobe smiled menacingly. Oshitari might've let the information about "helping" An slip. And maybe exaggerate it a little.

"God, Oshitari, if I live to finish those laps. You. Will. Die." Shishido ran off towards the track.

"Thanks, you overly-sweet-man! Don't forget to help walk some old ladies while you run." Oshitari waved.

"You really have no mercy. Lemme guess, today is the last week of the month?" Atobe asked.

"That was your idea, Yuushi?" Gakuto snickered.

"I told you that every last week of the month I choose one person to ruin their lives in any way I can. He has been by far the most fun to tease." Oshitari laughed as he walked off. The other regulars just shook their head in a disapproving way.

"He did write that on his goal sheet for the year. That teacher almost sent him to the guidance counselor." Gakuto grinned.

"Gakuto, go give this list to your sister." Atobe was writing on a clipboard as he handed a paper to Gakuto.

"The boys regular team stuff?" Gakuto stared at the paper.

"Just for when we do mixed matches. Now shoo shoo." Atobe waved him off.

"Yeah oka- HEY. Why does it say that I have attitude problems? WHY DOES MY GENDER SAY "UNKNOWN"?" Gakuto fumed.

"I had Oshitari do those parts. Ask him later." Atobe said as he made a mental note to check what Oshitari said about him.

**~x~**

"Game set and match, 6-4, Tachibana." The referee called, as the two girls went up to shake hands.

"Good match." Kiki smiled as she shook her hand.

"Uh, yeah thanks. You too." An would've been more smiley if not for the strangely strong grip of the handshake. Was she thinking too hard about it?

"And now our last match will be between Kohaku and Kiki." Eri directed. An finally got a spot on the regulars. FINALLY. She had also promised herself that she would stay happy and upbeat even after losing a match. She has to change this attitude.

An was too worn out by today's events to watch another match. So she headed for the locker rooms to get changed.

An grabbed her tennis bag remembering her promise to practice with Takumi. Leaving the shed-like building, she spotted a figure outside.

"Hey, you're going home already?" Naoki smiled.

"Yeah, listen, I'm really sorry about before." The memory of the staring and whispering flowed through her head.

"I'm not upset! I just wanted to let you in on something," Naoki grinned, "The first time I played a match with Eri, let's just say it ended the same way it did with our match. That's why the crowd was so surprised. Kinda ironic, huh?" Naoki yawned and walked into the locker rooms.

"Yeah," An felt a weight lift off her shoulders, "Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better." An smiled.

"Anyway, I'm going home now. Really tired." An walked, just to bump into someone else.

"By home, don't you mean **my** home?" Takumi rolled his eyes.

**~x~**

"Alright, thanks. That Oshitari is so funny." Eri chuckled as she read the information about the regulars.

"If I can find him, then I'll kill him." Gakuto huffed.

"The mixed matches will take place in a week then. Bring this back to Atobe." Eri shoved the paper into his face.

"Yeah, yeah. You captains are all the same, with your demandingness. If I was a girl, I would totally be captain."

"You wouldn't even be vice-captain. Anyway, I thought your gender was "Unknown"." Eri sneered.

**~x~**

An walked home with Takumi. It was peaceful. She was in such a better mood that she jumped up and down, with Takumi sending her questioning looks.

Then she remembered. She remembered who she was. An Tachibana. Tachibana An.

"Takumi, can I meet you later? I need to go see someone." An smiled apologetically.

"Fine," Takumi sighed, "Don't be late for dinner." Takumi shot a look saying that if she did miss dinner, she wouldn't be getting anything to eat.

"Yeah, yeah." An waved as she headed home. Her actual home.

**~x~**

**A little extra mind spamming...**

**There's always a reason why no one can kill Oshitari.**

"Time to find Oshitari and kill him~" Shishido gritted his teeth.

"Let's go together then." Gakuto came up behind him.

"You have a reason to kill him too?" Shishido asked.

"Yes. Yes I do."

**Awkward Pause**

"Well. Okay. Let's go then." Shishido walked with his newly found ally. As they rounded a corner, they found Hiyoshi.

"Oshitari told me to meet him at the theater room. Do you guys know why?" Hiyoshi asked.

"I don't know. Anyway, let's go kill him TOGETHER." Gakuto bounced.

**Awkward Pause**

"Err... Maybe I should just go home." Hiyoshi made an attempt to turn around, but got dragged by Shishido. And so the three tennis players walked on.

"Hey, Oshitari borrowed my eraser. Do you know wher-" Chotaro was cut off as Gakuto suddenly grabbed him. And so the four tennis players walked on.

"Hey, I'm going to the cafeteria to grab a snack, where ar-" Gakuto grabbed some random guy. And so the four and a half tennis players walked on.

"Usu." Kabaji just stood there and wouldn't budge as Gakuto attempted to grab him.

Gakuto stared up at Kabaji like he was a mountain and just muttered, "Whatever." Gakuto left Kabaji alone and continued on with the others. They finally arrived at the theater room.

"_Welcome. I've been expecting you guys. _**Now forget!**" Oshitari threw some powder on them and they all passed out.

"Damn, that works every time." Oshitari jumped over them and left the scene laughing.

**So, I felt like "Oshitari Spamming". I should make that a separate story. "The way in which Oshitari spams." XD**

**By the way, I intend to build An's relationship with the regulars, a little later.**

**I had so much to say, but I forgot. :D**

**Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave something behind. ;D like a review.**


	6. Time After Time

**My Internet is down, and I've got time to kill. Enjoy.**

**OMG OMG OMG. FOR SOME REASON, THAT SCENE WITH THE STUPID PUN AND KABAJI IS STUCK IN MY HEAD. ^/^ I'm dying of embarrassment. SAVE ME.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. TOOSH.**

**Just got my Internet back up, so I'm sticking some stuff in:**

**Thanks to sempai-sama for reviewing: OMG, YOU ARE A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.**

**Review 1: I was trying to get the team back together so I could add a little to the plot. I was thinking that Atobe harassing was kinda funny, but then I realized how weird it was too early in the fic. I'm trying to fix Atobe up a bit, because I like how it started, but then it just went downhill. T_T I was trying to make a character that isn't perfect, full of flaws, but lovable in a way-ish. So I kinda put Takumi in, but I'm still going to stay on the AtobeAn pairing.**

**Review 2: For some reason I can't think of ways to make his character fit in, when there's so many powerful characters. :OOOO BUT I WILL FIND A WAY. MWAHAHAHHAHAA. I did enjoy watching the tennis stuff, but the action with the characters interested me WAY more. So I decided to make matches short and sweet. ;D Glad you liked it.**

**Review 3: I like the stories where An is a strong character, because it makes things seem a lot cooler. ;P However, the easiest way for me to start this was depression and a little weakness. I admit, I was worried that most people would feel like Shishido was harsh, so I'm feeling a lot better about how I made thattttt. :D Still working on fitting everyone in without rushing things, so HINT HINT: This'll be my closing everything up chapter, and then working it out with mixed matches and stuff.**

**And... sorry for making you read this essay^**

**Reviews make me excited. ;D**

**Here's a song you can listen to while you read: "As long as you love me" (Not a big fan of Justin Bieber, but while I was listening to the radio dying without internet, this song kept me alive.)**

**/watch?v=whGwqrP_3w0**

**(add the youtube . com part)**

_I don't feel anywhere close to the others._

_Time is warping._

_Why am I even here?_

_Is it some miracle or a mistake?_

_Shishido-san deserves it more._

_But how will I handle it if I leave?_

_~Chotaro Ohtori_

**There's always a reason.**

"Brother?" An walked cautiously into the house. Every step deeper into the house made her feel a little pain in her chest.

"An? An is that you?" Tachibana came around the corner. He definitely hesitated, but had to wrap his arms around the girl.

"I heard you were attending school from Kamio, so I didn't call the police. And listen... I... should have accepted your decision. But..." Tachibana trailed off.

"Wait. I just need to tell you something... Remember what happened last year... There's something I didn't tell you." An looked down at the floor.

"What do you mean? I heard that your friends were only close to you because you knew the tennis team. What else is there?" Tachibana showed a look of confusion.

"One of them tried to get me expelled."

**~x~**

"Takumi, where's An?" Shishido appeared smirking at the doorway.

"She went somewhere." Takumi walked unfazed passed the intimidating tennis duo, and stuck the key in the door.

"You obviously lied about it." Gakuto rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure." Takumi walked into the house and set down his bag.

"Nice place. It's been a while since I've been here." Gakuto let himself in.

"What are you guys doing here? Where's Atobe?" Takumi sat on the couch with a bag of chips.

"Atobe told the regulars to meet here and wait for him." Gakuto grabbed the chips from Takumi and started eating.

"Ugh. Didn't he tell you to have some manners?" Takumi sighed. The two regulars smirked.

"He said to do whatever we wanted." Shishido laughed.

"That jerk." Takumi got up and looked out the window.

_Guess she's not coming anytime soon._

**~x~**

"WHAT? And who would this be?" Tachibana's face was fuming.

"A girl who fell in love with you. She was really popular, and she sent a picture of me slapping her. It was obviously faked, but many people didn't like me at the time anyway. She got a group of people to sign a petition. Teachers didn't believe her. That's when I lost my friends. Even the tennis team didn't like me. God, this sounds so fake." An lowered her head.

"But... I've never heard of this." Tachibana looked confused.

"She loved you. So she made sure not to tell you about it. She just hated that I didn't like her, and with her logic, getting rid of me would give her a better chance of dating you. Somehow I've forgotten most of the details myself." An shrugged.

"I never really cared about her though. The results of it, did affect me. So... I decided to change schools. I just need to get away. I think that this change would help me. I'm sorry for not telling you... it's just..."

"Well, don't be getting all sorry. It's not your fault. And... and I guess I get why you didn't tell me..." Tachibana sighed.

They sat in silence.

"It's not like it matters anymore. I'm not sad or anything. I got over that a lot before." An smiled. _I have a new life ahead._

"Yeah. You're right. My little sister isn't a weakling." Tachibana patted her on the head.

"Oh and one more thing. Where are you living right now?" Tachibana asked.

"Err... well... At Atobe's cousin's house?"

Dead silence.

"Umm... I'm not going to ask. Just be careful. And call." Tachibana sighed defeated.

"Yeah. I will." An smiled and waved as she left to Takumi's house.

**~x~**

"Hey Takumi. I came to pick everyone up." Atobe stood at the doorway.

"Oh yeah. Please. LEAVE NOW." Takumi shoved the now full tennis team out the door.

"We're really sorry about intruding." Chotaro smiled.

"It's fine, **you** can stop by whenever you want." Takumi smiled back.

"Come on guys, we don't have all day." Atobe started walking ahead.

"Yeah, we're coming." Gakuto jumped off the doorstep.

Takumi watched past the bushes as the team rounded the corner, and little did he know, An had just rounded the corner on the opposite side.

She skipped off in the direction of the house.

"HEY TAKUMI! OPEN UP." An shouted outside the door.

"Looks like you made it to dinner, barely." Takumi scoffed.

"Well, I'll be staying here for a while. Whoa, its a mess in here." An gaped.

"You just missed the team. They're a real handful." Takumi sighed picking up bits of chips from the floor, using extra large hospital gloves.

"Well, I'll be off to my room!" An skipped to the stairs only to have her collar pulled.

"Wait. You promised to practice with me right?" Takumi scowled.

"It's already 6:00!" An yelled.

"That's why we should start now. Then we'll eat dinner at 8:17, and you can start your homework at 8:32, letting you sleep at 11:43." Takumi counted off his fingers.

"Isn't that taking out of my dinner time, and overcrowding my homework time!?" An shouted.

"It's obvious you eat too much, and eventually you'll gain more than 17 pounds every year, which will affect my tennis practice time aka your rent. Plus, it's easy to tell that you need 3 hours and 11 minutes tops to finish your homework." Takumi motioned with his hands, closing his eyes in a prideful way.

"_How do you know I gain around 17 pounds every year!? Since when do you charge rent!? How do you know the time I take to finish my homework!? DID YOU EVEN FINISH YOURS!?_" An replied obnoxiously.

"I'm a professional at this thing. After all, my dad is a professional doctor and my mom is a professional psychiatrist, working for Atobe." Takumi opened one eye in a lazy drawn out way to peer at An, then he grinned.

"Of course I finished my homework."

An grimaced as she dropped her bag on a clean spot on the couch. Taking her tennis bag, she rolled her eyes.

"Just until 8:17, right?" An followed Takumi as he grabbed his tennis bag next to the door.

"Actually, that's 8:21." Takumi answered.

"Only three minutes have passed!" An glared at her watch.

"1 minute to get there. We might as well take the rest out of your dinner time." Takumi answered.

"You basta-"

"I bet you have a digital watch. There's no way someone with your brain capacity could comprehend time that quickly." Takumi walked around the house, into the courts.

"You won't ever know, anyway." An covered her watch successfully.

"I don't need to see it to know. You're a visual learner, aren't you?" Takumi smirked.

"Who cares? Let's just get on the court already!" An flew into the courts, looking down at her digital watch with red tinted at her cheeks.

**~x~**

"That's enough training for today." Atobe motioned at the two sweaty players on the court.

"Alright." Shishido walked over to a bench, where Chotaro dropped a towel on his head.

"Thanks." Shishido murmured.

"Ohtori. Shishido. I need you to run an errand for me." Atobe said, while adjusting the strings on his racket.

"What is it?" Chotaro grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Bring Oshitari and Gakuto's tennis bags over to Takumi's house. It's the closest." Atobe looked up at the sky. _It was getting dark._

"Yeah." Chotaro grabbed a bag and with a small exhale, looked back at the courts. Oshitari and Gakuto were training against each other. The score was a disturbing 5-1. Gakuto was terribly tired and sweating.

Shishido grabbed a bag, and they headed off down the sidewalk.

"Hiyoshi, you can take my bag." Atobe lazily looked over to the players on court and observed. Hiyoshi shot a glare at Atobe, and picked up the bag.

As the three walked along, Shishido muttered to Hiyoshi.

"It's not only because of our captain's laziness that you're carrying his bag."

"I knew that. It seems like it'll be a long night for Mukahi. Atobe still has his racket." Hiyoshi sighed.

"It might not be. It seems like Gakuto might have an injury." Chotaro looked up at a barely visible star.

"Why didn't you say something!?" Shishido shot a surprised look.

"Atobe knew." Chotaro smiled with his bangs covering his eyes.

**~x~**

**Well, I guess that was my best attempt at ending this tragicness. I felt like An needed a brighter side.**

**A.N. – I created Takumi because I thought he would fit in with the atmosphere. A weird, obsessive guy fits An's personality, but I guess he might be a little over the top.**

**Wow, Atobe looks gooood. **Whistle****

**... ... ... ... **

**OKAY I CAN'T WHISTLE, HAPPY NOW?**

**Did you know that Microsoft word corrects the word Woah to Whoa?**

**Those who have stuck along with my sillyness, let's HOPE it gets better! YAY...?**

**Reviews make me smile. :)**


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